Glenwood's solid win over Bishops

This weekend saw Glenwood travel down to the Grey PE. Rugby festival where they were matched up against the highly regarded Cape Town team, Bishops. Having travelled 16 hours by bus to arrive at the festival and not having an opportunity to train before the game, the odds were stacked up against team from Durban.

Despite the far from ideal preparation Glenwood played with control and a measured discipline that saw them dominate their opposition.

Playing into the wind, Glenwood scored first with a penalty from Morné Joubert after a sustained period of attack. Having spent most of the half in Bishops 22m, and doing most of the playing, Glenwood continued to assert their control through powerful forward drives and direct backline play. Joubert, having now found his rhythm, converted another two penalties and steadily built a lead.

On the stroke of half-time the Glenwood forwards ground out some metres and were rewarded through a powerful try by loosehead prop Kenny van Niekerk. The try was converted by Joubert and the Glenwood side went into the half-time break with a 16-6 lead.

The second half saw the Glenwood side tighten their grip as they immediately put the Bishops team under pressure. Having run and played an expansive game in the first half, Bishops started to kick which played into the Glenwood team's hands.

Having found themselves deep in Bishops half, Glenwood finished off a driving maul with some direct forward running which saw Percy Mngadi cross over the white-wash for a try which was converted again by Joubert.

With the score sitting at 23-6 the game was won and Glenwood rang the changes. Bishop’s managed to score in the last minute when it was clear that the 16-hour bus trip had caught up with the team from Durban.

The final score was 23-11 and the Glenwood side can take huge credit for a performance that can only be described as clinical.

By Michael Vowels of Glenwood